Daniel Popa v. Lucia Tiberia Popa

CourtKentucky Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 29, 2019
Docket2019-SC-0115
StatusUnpublished

This text of Daniel Popa v. Lucia Tiberia Popa (Daniel Popa v. Lucia Tiberia Popa) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Kentucky Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Daniel Popa v. Lucia Tiberia Popa, (Ky. 2019).

Opinion

IMPORTANT NOTICE NOT TO BE PUBLISHED OPINION

THIS OPINION IS DESIGNATED "NOT TO BE PUBLISHED." PURSUANT TO THE RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE PROMULGATED BY THE SUPREME COURT, CR 76.28(4){C), THIS OPINION IS NOT TO BE PUBLISHED AND SHALL NOT BE CITED OR USED AS BINDING PRECEDENT IN ANY OTHER CASE IN ANY COURT OF THIS STATE; HOWEVER, UNPUBLISHED KENTUCKY APPELLATE DECISIONS, RENDERED AFTER JANUARY 1, 2003, MAY BE CITED FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE COURT IF THERE IS NO PUBLISHED OPINION THAT WOULD ADEQUATELY ADDRESS THE ISSUE BEFORE THE COURT. OPINIONS CITED FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE COURT SHALL BE SET OUT AS AN UNPUBLISHED DECISION IN THE FILED DOCUMENT AND A COPY OF THE ENTIRE DECISION SHALL BE TENDERED ALONG WITH THE DOCUMENT TO THE COURT AND ALL PARTIES TO THE ACTION. c

RENDERED: AUGUST 29, 2019 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

2019-SC-000115-I

DANIEL POPA; NECC TELECOM, INC. APPELLANTS (CANADA); NECC TELECOM, INC.; PULSE TELECOM, INC. (CANADA); PULSE TELECOM PTY, LTD), SRVR, LLC; QUICKCALL.COM, LLC D/B/A BLUETONE LLC; AND BLUETONE,CONNECT, PTY LTD

ON REVIEW FROM COURT OF APPEALS V. CASE NO. 2018-CA-001053-MR JEFFERSON CIRCUIT COURT NO. 13-CI-002337

LUCIA TIBERIA POPA; VICENT PETRESCU; APPELLEES SHERBAN APOSTOLINA; RAMONA CEAN; AND RAUL TURCU

MEMORANDUM OPINION OF THE COURT

AFFIRMING

Daniel Popa appeals from the Court of Appeals’ order denying his motion

for interlocutory relief pursuant to Kentucky Rule of Civil Procedure (CR)

65.08. Daniel1 seeks relief from post-judgment trial court orders that he

alleges improperly impose injunctive relief. Because the trial court orders are

merely efforts to enforce the final and appealable judgment and Daniel failed to

post a supersedeas bond under CR 73.04, we affirm the Court of Appeals.

1 The two primary parties share the same surname so they will be referred to in this Opinion by their first names to avoid confusion. f (

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Daniel Popa (Daniel) and Lucia Popa (Lucia), a married couple, operated

several telecommunications businesses together. In 2010, their marriage was

dissolved, and the ownership and control of the companies was divided

between the two individuals. On May 3, 2013, Daniel filed a Complaint against

Lucia, alleging that one of the companies she controlled was not providing his

companies with the software and support they needed, contrary to a

commitment she made in the parties’ marital settlement.2 Daniel named Lucia,

her associates who were managing the companies, and several of the

companies (Lucia and the companies), as defendants in the Jefferson Circuit

Court action. The Complaint also named companies NECC US, SRVR, NECC

Canada and Pulse Australia as defendants. Lucia was a 51% majority

shareholder in three of the named companies.3

After two years of active litigation, it became clear that the only viable

solution was for one party to take complete control and pay the other for

his/her interests in the companies. In September 2015, nearly two and a half

years after the Complaint was filed, the parties entered a 79-page Settlement

2 The marital settlement agreement established that Daniel was a 49% minority shareholder in NECC US, NECC Canada, Pulse Australia and Pulse US. Daniel was a 51% majority shareholder in Pulse Canada. Lucia was a 51% majority shareholder in NECC US, NECC Canada, Pulse Australia and Pulse US, and a 49% minority shareholder of Pulse Canada. The agreement also established that Lucia would serve as CEO and director of NECC US, NECC Canada, and Pulse Australia, and serve as the CEO of Pulse Canada and sole manager of Pulse US for four years. 3 The record is unclear as to whether Lucia was the majority shareholder in SRVR when the Complaint was filed, but as discussed below, this company was purchased from Lucia as part of a later settlement agreement so it appears she either held a majority interest in SRVR or managed the company.

2 Agreement which gave Daniel full control and ownership of the companies in

exchange for making $3.58 million in payments to Lucia over roughly three

years. Daniel also purchased all of Lucia’s ownership interest in three

additional companies — SRVR, Quickcall/Bluetone, and Bluetone Australia (the

Transfer Companies). In the Settlement Agreement, Lucia warranted that the

financial statements delivered to Daniel fairly and accurately represented the

financial condition and operations of the Transfer Companies. Daniel initially

made the $5,000 daily installment payments to Lucia that were provided for in

the Settlement Agreement.

In 2016, Daniel learned that, during Lucia’s ownership and exclusive

control of the companies, the companies incurred approximately $8 million in

unpaid tax liabilities.4 In early 2017, Daniel stopped making payments under

the Settlement Agreement and pursued new claims against Lucia. On

February 16, 2017, Daniel filed a Second Amended Complaint, alleging, among

other things, breach of contract, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation.

Around the same time, Daniel sought to formally realign the parties, naming all

companies involved in this litigation as plaintiffs, and leaving Lucia and her

associates as the only defendants. Daniel asserted that since Lucia breached

the representations and warranties in the Settlement Agreement, he was no

4 Given the limited record on appeal, it is not entirely clear as to which company/companies had outstanding tax liabilities. While some of the companies were initially owned by Daniel, and others (the Transfer Companies) later came under his control by virtue of the Settlement Agreement, all companies will hereinafter be referred to as “the companies” because, due to the nature of this appeal, determining which specific company or group of companies is referred to is not necessary.

3 ' ' r

longer obligated to make the daily installment payments and sought return of

the amounts he had already paid.

Over the next few months, the parties engaged in ongoing discovery

efforts. Lucia filed a motion on December 8, 2017, to enjoin Daniel from

transferring customers and also seeking other relief. Lucia sought court

intervention based on her perception that Daniel: 1) was moving customers

from one of the Transfer Companies to a business he controlled outside the

court’s jurisdiction; 2) was allowing the companies to essentially go insolvent;

and 3) was not paying taxes to an even greater extent than when she controlled

the companies. The trial court conducted a temporary injunction hearing on

January 29, 2018. This hearing was conducted off the record, at Daniel’s

urging, based on his concerns that proprietary financial information would

likely be presented and cause injury to the companies. Daniel testified first,

followed by an expert appointed by the trial court to review the unpaid tax

allegations and advise the court.

The expert testified that during the time Lucia was in control of the

companies, the tax problems were caused by the telecommunications customer

invoices, which had a line item stating what charges were for taxes and fees

but the amounts reflected were not forwarded to the taxing authorities. She

also stated that Daniel did not fix the problem once he took control of the

companies, and that the invoices he utilized stated that all taxes were included

in the customer charges, but that the companies still failed to fulfill their tax

obligations.

4 I (

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Elk Horn Coal Corp. v. Cheyenne Resources, Inc.
163 S.W.3d 408 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 2005)
Gilbert v. McDonald-Burkman
320 S.W.3d 79 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 2010)
Akers v. Stephenson
469 S.W.2d 704 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1970)
Stanley M. CHESLEY, Movant v. Mildred ABBOTT, Et Al., Respondents
503 S.W.3d 148 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 2016)
Linden v. Griffin
436 S.W.3d 521 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Daniel Popa v. Lucia Tiberia Popa, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/daniel-popa-v-lucia-tiberia-popa-ky-2019.